There aren't a whole lot of obvious replacements for VMI if you are the Big South. You really need to find a football playing school which rules out most of the Atlantic Sun. The best option seems to be to try to get one of the Gulf South schools that would like to move up like North Alabama, West Georgia, or even, if the Big South could be so lucky, Valdosta State.

Right now the Big South has Liberty (wants to go FBS), Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina and wildcard fb-only affiliate Monmouth for football. If I am the commissioner I would propose a truce with the A-Sun---urge the A-Sun to offer membership to those DII football schools in the Gulf South that better fit the A-Sun footprint and then offer an open invitation for football affiliatship in a combined A-Sun/Big South football league. It might look like this:

This alignment would be A-Sun heavy and probably technically be affiliated with the A-Sun but right now the Big South programs are up and going at FCS and the others need a conference structure to join in order to come to DI-FCS.

There aren't a whole lot of obvious replacements for VMI if you are the Big South. You really need to find a football playing school which rules out most of the Atlantic Sun. The best option seems to be to try to get one of the Gulf South schools that would like to move up like North Alabama, West Georgia, or even, if the Big South could be so lucky, Valdosta State.

Could the Big South just stay at 10 if the SoCon relieves them of a non-football member? They could always pick up any school from the Atlantic Sun for football only.

The issue isn't about full membership, it's that the Big South needs 6 full members that have football to be able to sponsor it. Right now they only have 6 (with Monmouth as an affiliate), and with Liberty actively pursuing FBS and the other schools being possible SoCon expansion targets, losing anyone could cause Big South football to fall apart. Their only real options in D1 are Kennesaw State (which won't have a team until 2015), Stetson (who joins the non-scholly Pioneer in the fall) and Jacksonville, who already competes in the Pioneer.

So their best option would be to try to convince some D2 schools to move up. North Alabama, West Alabama, West Georgia and Valdosta State (GA) could join as full members to have 11 schools for FB and 15 full members. Of course that allows for schools like Liberty and VMI to leave, and the Atlantic Sun could take schools to even things out since they'll be down to 8 if Mercer and ETSU leave.

There aren't a whole lot of obvious replacements for VMI if you are the Big South. You really need to find a football playing school which rules out most of the Atlantic Sun. The best option seems to be to try to get one of the Gulf South schools that would like to move up like North Alabama, West Georgia, or even, if the Big South could be so lucky, Valdosta State.

What? Kennesaw St. is so obvious.

Sorry, I should have stated I consider Kennesaw State a more likely SoCon replacement especially if Mercer intends to maintain Pioneer football.

A shared football league between the ASun and the Big South sounds like a good idea. Keeps Kennesaw State in the ASun while allowing them a home in the Big South. That type of alliance would keep the Big South consolidated to the Mid Atlantic area (VA, NC, SC) allowing the ASun the footprint of the Deep South/Florida while possibility looking at a midwest division to accommodate UNK. Both would have to deal with poaching from the SoCon, but it keeps the two leagues off of each others backs and allows for the stabilization of Big South football and tighter footprints for non revenue sports. USC Upstate would probably want to move to the Big South, but that would throw off the Big South's 4 VA, 2 NC / 4 SC 2 NC divisional split.

Why have an alliance when the Big South has all the power? They can just take KSU to have a 6th fb member. They need them as a full member to maintain the 6 needed for the BSC to have fb under that name and not the BSFC.

Good point. And they may need another down the road if Liberty moves up to FBS.

Kennesaw State is available.

Should the Big South think BIG and go after the upwardly-mobile schools in the GSC ?North Alabama, West Alabama, West Georgia, West Florida ?

If they are going to want them eventually, why not go for it...

The problem with wholesale Gulf South expansion is that the Big South is bloated with all of the non-football schools who aren't going to be favor of expansion that causes them travel further. Meanwhile, the A-Sun has empty seats to fill and the Gulf South schools are closer to their footprint. When you factor the voting block of 6 non-fb schools and the fact that they already have 11 full members partnering with the A-Sun just seems logical. The A-Sun could have a nice footprint focused on GA and FL with members in AL, TN, and SC on its periphery.

Muskie is right. no need to expand your footprint in sports non revenue sports when you can do it football only. Big South is credited as an FCS conference and as long as they have 6 members playing under the Big South banner they are fine. Let Kennesaw join as football only and work with ASun if other football members want to do the same. Big South grows in football while staying in small footprint for non revenue sports. Win Win Win

I don't think Monmouth is the only mover out of Big South. CoC might need a travel partner, and if the CAA can't shake down another SoCon school, who would it be? If it doesn't have to be a football school, there's Winthrop, but if it does...would that be Presbyterian!?

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